Global Conference Drives Integrated Action on Climate and Sustainable Development Goals to Accelerate a Just and Inclusive Transition
A global conference to push for integrated and accelerated action on climate and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) was held at the United Nations on 16 July 2023, bringing together Ministers and high-level representatives from government, business and civil society, among over 400 in-person and nearly 4,000 virtual participants from 140 countries.
The Fourth Global Conference on Strengthening Synergies Between the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was co-convened by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), as a special event of the 2023 UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development.
In his welcoming remarks, Mr. Li Junhua, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, outlined the enormous challenges the world faces: that halfway to the deadline for the 2030 Agenda, only 15 percent of the SDG targets are on track, and the climate crisis is worsening, as emissions continue to rise with catastrophic impacts, including heat waves, droughts, flooding and wildfires.
Speaking on behalf of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Mr. Li urged a rescue plan for people and planet, with "unprecedented ambition and action." "Maximizing synergies between climate action and the SDGs has never been more critical," he stated, quoting the Secretary-General that “climate action is the 21st century's greatest opportunity to drive forward all the Sustainable Development Goals." He added that the SDG Summit in September would be an opportunity to "turbocharge" transformative action.
"The prospects for achieving every SDG are impacted by climate change," stated Mr. Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of UNFCCC, in his opening remarks as co-convenor, "and meeting the SDGs will strengthen climate action." He noted that the latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) finds that aligning climate and SDG actions can yield tremendous long-term co-benefits including a gain of 43 trillion dollars in economic output by 2070.
"This must be the year we course-correct," he said. "A strong outcome at COP 28 will support both climate action and the sustainability agenda." "Finance is key for both agendas," he added. "Delivering the longstanding goal of 100 billion dollars of climate finance a year would support sustainable development and climate action."
Dialogue and Recommendations
With a thematic focus on Delivering a just transition through climate and SDG synergies, the Conference featured a number of high-level statements, as well as three substantive roundtables exploring key questions: (1) A just, equitable and net-zero transition – how to get it right? (2) climate action as an avenue for social and economic change – how to get all stakeholders on board? and (3) unlocking finance and partnerships for climate and SDG action – how can it be done?
The Conference also heard preliminary reflections from an Expert Group on Climate and SDG Synergies, launched in response to the critical need to deepen the evidence-base on this topic, on the recommendation of the third global synergies conference (Tokyo, 2022). The Group, composed of fourteen experts from diverse backgrounds, is expected to launch its report in September 2023. Several of the experts played key roles in the Conference discussions.
A number of participants noted that political momentum is building for integrated solutions to the climate and SDGs crises, and that both the G7 and G20 had recently recognized the importance of pursuing these synergies. Engagement by many stakeholders is also growing, with more dialogues being held in connection with UNFCCC Regional Climate Weeks and other climate and SDG processes. Others noted that, while awareness is growing, this has not yet translated into synergistic action on the ground, and that there was a need to break down the silos among those who work on climate and SDG issues.
The main actions recommended at the Conference to keep driving the "win-win" integration and acceleration of these two key agendas, as highlighted in the outcome summary, were:
- Renew leadership and political commitment to speed up action on both the SDGs and Paris Agreement goals, using upcoming milestones such as the SDG Summit, the Climate Ambition Summit, and the first global stocktake under the Paris Agreement;
- Continue deepening the evidence base and analytical work related to synergies and trade-offs across sectors, building on the report being prepared by the Expert Group, to be launched in September 2023;
- Ensure integration of just transitions in countries’ national climate plans and development strategies;
- Take into account social equity and the empowerment of vulnerable groups in prioritizing financial and technical support to enable just transitions;
- Strengthen multi-stakeholder cooperation and dialogue at all levels, including through this annual conference on synergies as well as UNFCCC Regional Climate Weeks; and
- Leverage the full range of intergovernmental processes on SDGs and climate to enhance integrated approaches and synergistic action.
The full summary of outcomes, statements, videos and other documentation can be found on the Conference website .